


Five Times Michelle Jones Saved Peter Parker

by TakaiTotem



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Trailer, F/M, Guilt, High School, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Self-Esteem Issues, Stress Relief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-02-01 17:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12709884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakaiTotem/pseuds/TakaiTotem
Summary: And one time Peter saved MJ.





	1. Falling

MJ had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she held the ladder that supported her vigilante boyfriend. They were in the middle of a walk through Central Park when Peter, being the ever-loving Samaritan that he was, saw an old lady working a shift at the carousel. She was attempting to grab a large sign that was probably left by a group of delinquents, but she was simply unable to reach it. In his words, 'She looks absolutely exhausted! It really breaks my heart to see the elderly do so much for us when they should be having fun!' Once he was set on it, the young hero ran over and asked the old lady if she wouldn't mind letting them help her. She nodded gratefully, slowly and shakily descending down the ladder. She seemed like a nice lady. Her hair was only slightly grayed and she had an accent. She quickly shook Peter and Michelle's hands and assured them that she would only go to get a drink. And just like that, they found themselves trying to pry a large and obscene sign off of the side of the Central Park Carousel. Sometimes, her boyfriend was too good of a person, though she hated to admit it. Watching him try and fail to grab the waving fabric nearly drove her to the edge, however.

"You alright, nerd?" MJ asked from below. Peter's hand only barely touched the fabric and he groaned in frustration.

"I think I can do it!" he shouted back indignantly, trying to reach over on his tiptoes. He was getting closer to it. It seemed like all he needed was an extra centimeter. Huffing in annoyance, he threw all sense of safety out the window and jumped up. MJ's eyes widened at this as the ladder fell over.

 "PETER!" she gasped, frustrated by his self-preservation habits (or lack thereof). She looked up and immediately her panic started to bubble. The boy was hanging, thirty feet off the ground, held only by a piece of fabric. In her panic, she failed to remember that her boyfriend was also the Amazing Spider-Man, the wall-crawling Avenger who'd fallen from higher heights.

Then again, at that point, she didn't really know about how he sprained his ankle the other day. Whoops. Peter looked down and his on-again-off-again fear of heights decided to come on-again.

"Oh SH-"

"LANGUAGE!" MJ scolded in her haste, desperately trying round up all the leaves and bags she could to cushion his fall. "THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE!"

"SORRY, CAPTAIN AMERICA!" Peter quipped back. It was times like this that made MJ want to smack him. He looked around and his face flushed at the looks he and MJ were getting from bystanders. Sometimes, their relationship could classify as weirder than Doctor Banner and Natasha's. The vigilante almost managed to distract himself from the rush of his stupid endeavor until his heightened sense of sound managed to pick up the sign slowly peeling away from the wall. "I'M SLIPPING!"

MJ's heart raced as she scooped the last armful of leaves into the pile and finally deemed it high enough to cushion Peter's fall. Perfect timing, too, as at that moment, the sign finally separated from the exterior of the building and it, along with Peter, fell. MJ managed to move out of the way just before Peter hit the leave pile. As the large blanket of fabric slowly floated down behind them, Peter's head popped up from the pile and he gave a sheepish grin.

"I'm gonna kill you." MJ growled. Peter gave a cautious smile and held his hands up in defense. Her gaze softened as she finally looked away.

"I love you." he squeaked.

"You better."


	2. One Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For once, Peter just wanted to stay in bed and do nothing. No decathlon meetings, no marching band rehearsals, no Legos with Ned, and no patrols as Spider-Man. For once, he wanted to waste his day lying down and watching TV like any normal teenager would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was considering making this a smut.

For once, Peter just wanted to stay in bed and do nothing. No decathlon meetings, no marching band rehearsals, no Legos with Ned, and no patrols as Spider-Man. For once, he wanted to waste his day lying down and watching TV like any normal teenager would. Too bad Michelle was there to foil his plans. He didn't originally want to be a-

"Lazy ass!"

Right. Lazy ass. He didn't originally want to be  _that_ when he woke up the previous day. But that was a Friday and he had been having a very stressful week. For one, he forgot his backpack in an alley when he went to go save the day from some lowlife muggers. He went back afterwards to retrieve it but he found it, along with his homework and notes, drenched in some mysterious and putrid-smelling fluid that he was positive came from a human body. Then, he ended up running for Midtown's homecoming court because he lost a bet with MJ. He somehow won, in an interesting turn of events, but quickly realized he had to turn it down with his hectic schedule (i.e. the "Stark Internship", marching band, academic decathlon, and his recent recognition from the National Honor Society). This obviously hurt his reputation even more than it already was and he didn't feel like showing his face to the student council adviser. And to top it all off, Aunt May's paycheck had yet to come in and to help her out, he'd avoided eating anything from his own home. With his accelerated metabolism, that decision led to frequent migraines and overall crankiness. All this, combined with the usual teasing from Flash, just burnt him out for the entire weekend. He felt a fluffy object being thrown at him and he groaned.

"Let me lie here on my death bed, Michelle." Peter deadpanned, muffled by the pillow covering his face. (Un)fortunately, even with several pillows wrapped around his head, his enhanced hearing and smelling could pick up the approaching figure of his dear girlfriend. He let out another groan as she sat on the bed. He turned around and pulled the sheets over his head, trying to ignore the comforting warmth of the girl beside him.

"Tiger," she sighed worriedly, rubbing his back a bit. "What's wrong?"

"I'm dead..." whined the young hero. He slowly leaned more into the touch as she continued the motion. It felt really nice, having someone care for him with hands as soft as hers. MJ raised an eyebrow and decided to simply hold him as she slipped under the covers. He looked back into the brown orbs that mirrored his own and smiled a small smile, his breath matching her own.

"Tell me what's up, Tiger." the girl insisted. Peter turned onto his other side and buried his face into the crook of her neck, taking in the familiar scent of cherry blossoms. Suddenly, a loud growl filled the room and the vigilante worried that MJ could feel the sudden rush of heat to his cheeks. She laughed, "Someone's hungry."

"That might be one of the causes," he muttered bashfully against her skin. His eyes widened as he felt MJ's hand trail down to his abs to rub his stomach. "M-MICHELLE!"

"What?" she asked innocently, with a faux-sweet tone in her voice. She smirked and stood up, slapping his butt. "I'll fix you something to eat right now, then we can talk over dinner. Okay?"

The young spider's mouth hung open at her words before he nodded. "I would like that."

"Spectacular," she quipped. "I can tell you've been starving yourself. I'll make some hot dogs."

Sometimes, Peter had to admit, he had the perfect girlfriend.


	3. Spider-Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What's wrong, Peter?" she asked again, making it clear that she would not back down. And when Michelle Jones wanted to know something, she would find out.

MJ watched curiously as her boyfriend made his way down the crowded hallway. At times like that, it was nice to be as observant as her. She stared hard at Peter, noticing every little thing he did. Every little change in his behavior. From the way his lips seemed to be curved into an eternal frown, to the way his eyes hardened whenever someone pushed past him. It was so unlike the shy and carefree approach to life that he constantly had that she actually held her breath. She, Michelle Jones, was obviously used to the prospect of Peter Parker's changes in demeanor, usually after a particularly bad night of fighting crime as Spider-Man. But those changes usually had undertones of intense terror and trauma that he had only just begun to start talking to her and Ned about. Upon first glance, it appeared to be a recession of the progress they made in finally addressing Peter's emotional stability, or lack thereof. However, when she looked closer at the the smaller details, she quickly realized that something was very wrong.

So, throughout the day, she continued to send him worried side glances, unable to catch him off guard thanks to that damned Spider-Sense. Every time she approached him, the boy simply headed in the opposite direction. It was infuriating, to be completely honest. She obviously loved Peter Benjamin Parker with all of her heart and all that lovey-dovey shit, but usually it was she who was the aloof, brooding, and overall difficult one in the relationship. She wasn't used to Peter acting so... MJ-like. If she were any more self-deprecating, she would've admitted that she hated herself and wanted to slap any traces of herself out of Peter.

But she didn't. She just really wanted to see her boyfriend act like his normal, bubbly self.

It wasn't long until school ended and it was time for their academic decathlon team to meet up. Once the bell rang, MJ stood from her chair and strolled to the library. On the way there, she noticed the Web-Head running to a nearby exit. Finally having enough of it, she ran after the boy. When she caught up to him, he was already halfway out the door. He was quick, but in the moment, she was quicker. She stuck one foot between the door and grabbed his wrist, which was already covered by his web-shooter. Peter jolted back in response and darted his head to his girlfriend with the most stoic expression she'd ever seen from him. Stunned, the couple stood there for a few beats. Neither one spoke. Neither one blinked. The intense gaze they gave each other was almost enough for them. Almost.

With a sigh of resignation, Peter broke the silence. "Hey."

MJ thumped him on the forehead, earning a quiet and dull 'ow'.

"'Hey'? You spend the entire day ignoring me and nearly skip out on a decathlon practice and all I get is 'hey'?" she asked him harshly, pulling him back into the building and pushing him up against a wall. She saw the fear in his eyes and leaned in close. Dangerously close, just to spite him. With just a few inches separating them, she asked, in a low voice, "What's up with you, Tiger?"

Peter gulped and his eyes darted from side to side. He was trying to avoid eye contact. Good.

"I need to go." he insisted, shifting slightly in her grasp.

With his super spider strength, it would've been no problem to push her away and run. But they both knew that he was too scared of hurting people to use his full strength, especially on her. So, he remained within her hold, biting his lip an nervousness at what was to come. If MJ wasn't so fed up with him in that moment, she would've found the sight before her endearing. But she was on a mission and none of his tricks would work on her today. She instead opted to turn around and walk them both into the janitor's closet. At least there, she could talk to him for a bit without worrying about a random student blindly walking into their conversation. Finally in a private area, she continued to press him.

"What's wrong, Peter?" she asked again, making it clear that she would not back down. And when Michelle Jones wanted to know something, she would find out. So, sighing in defeat, Peter relented.

"I've been spending almost my entire time as Spider-Man lately," he confessed. MJ nodded, silently asking for his elaboration. Looking down at his shoes as his eyes began to water, he whispered unevenly, "It's almost the anniversary of the day I became Spider-Man."

She knew what those words really meant.  _'It's almost the anniversary of Ben's death.'_ She should've known. She recalled the day they visited Oscorp Industries very vividly. Their school had been offered a field trip to the facility to get a better feel of a scientist's environment. Liz and Peter were picked to try out one of the devices on display. However, a small arachnid crept out from a crack in the ceiling and jumped. Right onto Peter's left hand. Once it bit him, he fled to the restroom and wasn't seen for the rest of the day. The morning after, he began to wear over-sized sweaters and jackets. Back then, she assumed that he was just going through some things and that, like many other teenagers, he had begun to self-harm. She suspected something different on the night Ben Parker was shot. She watched a distressed Peter rush into his apartment, only to leave a few minutes later in red and blue sweats. The rest was history. She looked down at her guilt-ridden boyfriend and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back instantly and sobbed softly into her shoulder, repeating the words 'I'm sorry' over and over.

They stayed there, holding each other, Peter crying on her shoulder and MJ stroking his hair and back. It broke her heart, but she knew that as long as she was there, he would never have to go through it alone. She cared about him. And she knew that the only thing strong enough to keep them apart was death itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, remember. This takes place in the same universe as my other fanfic, Ultimatum.


	4. Peter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "All of that out there, every time you save a life, I know it's not someone else taking the wheel. You're the hero. Spider-Man is defined by you. You are not defined by Spider-Man."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, it has been a while. Anyway, this is based on the recently-released Infinity War scene of Peter suiting up.
> 
> Just a bit of an explanation about the context of Peter's origin; my headcanon is that Peter's class had a field trip to Oscorp around the time of Ultron's attack. During a moment off-screen, he hacked into Oscorp's systems and ended up releasing the genetically modified spiders from containment. The two days after, Peter began to rebel against Ben and May, a lot like in the Amazing Spider-Man. Then came Ben's death during one of the final Ultron attacks.

When she told him to take a break from being Spider-Man, she didn't mean to just abandon New York when they needed him the most.

The world needed Spider-Man just as much as it needed Peter Parker.

That loser needed Spider-Man as much as he needed himself.

He spent nearly all of his time at their academic decathlon meetings, which honestly would have made her a lot happier if he didn't seem so empty and numbed. The few times he left his bag by itself and unguarded, she would have just enough time to rip it open and see a distinct lack of red and blue spandex. He never even carried his Web-Shooters anymore.

His grades were slipping. Either he didn't have time for his work anymore (which was fucking bullshit because there was a resurgence of crime in the streets of Queens, one that not even the Defenders had time to take on) or he just didn't care. He needed the same outlet for his emotions that being Spider-Man gave him.

It got worse when, one day, she was contacted by Tony Stark himself.

The billionaire kept tabs on everyone in Peter's life, especially someone with as prominent of a presence as Michelle Jones. Admittedly, she should have felt more disturbed at the man's (lack of) sense of privacy towards other people, but she was just worried about her best friend.

He told her about how he hadn't been able to get in contact with Peter, how he needed Spider-Man.

Which was why, on April 27th of 2018, she finally decided that enough was enough. She confronted the young hero, dead set on helping him as much as she could.

She didn't think she would ever have to save Spider-Man from Peter Parker.

She quickly grabbed him while they were passing each other in the hallways and she pulled him into the men's bathroom with her, tact be damned. He was wearing a stupid lettuce shirt and a grey hoodie was draped over his shoulders. His fists were clenched and ready to defend himself from his assailant.

Until he saw who it was.

"MJ?!" he shrieked, trying to get the hairs on his arms and on the back of his neck to flatten down. He finally quelled the blaring of his Spider-Sense and stared up at her with his adorably-wide eyes. His fists uncurled. "What's up?"

"Not Spider-Man, that's what's up." she remarked, eyes narrowing.

Peter's mouth fell indignantly.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice..."

"I notice every little thing about you, Tiger." the girl growled, fury bubbling in her chest. Peter bit the inside of his cheek in apprehension. He might have been the superhero, but she could easily bring him to his knees.

The boy averted his gaze and solemnly stared at his shoes, making MJ's glare soften.

"Stark needs you." she urged.

"I know." he sighed.

"There are baddies running amok in our town."

"I know."

"You're falling apart."

"I know."

MJ closed the distance between them and pulled the boy into a tight hug.

"They all need Spider-Man.  _You_ need Spider-Man." she whispered into his ear softly. Peter tensed up at the truth of her words, shaking his head in denial.

"Peter Parker messed up. Peter Parker can't save the day," he muttered into her shoulder. "Peter Parker isn't good enough to be Spider-Man."

The girl began to rub circles along his back, feeling him slowly but surely ease into her touch.

"Spider-Man  _is_ Peter Parker. It's not the other way around," She pulled away a bit to meet his eyes, two pairs of brown orbs focused on each other. "All of that out there, every time you save a life, I know it's not someone else taking the wheel. You're the hero. Spider-Man is defined by you. You are not defined by Spider-Man."

The sincerity behind her words were what led Peter to finally unearthing his iconic outfit from his backpack, making MJ's eyes shine.

Peter grinned.

"I was planning to get back into the game today, but now I know I can do it." he admitted. He suddenly glanced at his watch. "We have to get to our buses. For once, I don't want to be left behind during a field trip."

The small joke made MJ smirk.

"You're on bus number three, right?" she asked. He nodded.

"You guys are right behind us."

"Sweet," She grabbed his hand and moved to push the door open, then stopped. "Why were you so jumpy when I grabbed you?"

Peter breathed out slowly, trying to find the correct words.

"I don't know. I've just been on edge today. I feel like something big is gonna happen."


End file.
